Anne of the Island

This is the third of the 'Anne' books by LM Montgomery. Like the second, it's more a collection of incidents than an entire story, although the thread of Anne's potential romance runs through the book, as does her close friendships.

This novel sees her spending four years at Redmond College, studying for her BA along with old friends and new. She matures and develops, but is still the same imaginative and sometimes impulsive Anne of the first book.

It took me a while to get into this, but by about half-way through it was hard to put down, despite my having read it some years ago. There are some very moving sections as well as a fair amount of light relief and amusement. It's surprisingly modern in style and outlook, considering that it was written 90 years ago. Of course people still drive around in horses and carriages, and girls always wear dresses, but even so I was quite surprised to realise that girls could be quite emancipated and study for degrees so long ago.

Although there are three further 'Anne' books and then two about her children, I like the first three best and read them as a trilogy. This one comes to a very satisfactory conclusion and ties up so many loose ends that I don't feel the need to read any further in the series at present.

So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore?

Yes, an American book ('anymore' - is that really a word?!) by Jake Colsen (pseudonym for two authors) and one that's been highly recommended recently by several of our friends.

Despite the title which makes it sound like a few other popular books on this subject, it's a short novel - about 160 pages. It features Jake, an assistant pastor who is feeling discouraged about life and church in particular. He's also feeling a little uneasy about his friendship with his senior pastor, and concerned about the amount of time and money it takes to keep their successful church going.

Jake meets someone called John, who is full of wisdom and gentle suggestions which prompt Jake to re-think many of his preconceived ideas about church and the Christian life in general. Several crises follow, leaving him often discouraged, but John turns up when least expected but most needed. In the conversations John prompts Jake to consider his own life and expectations, to think about who Jesus is and what God is doing, without religious jargon or false assumptions.

Surprisingly it doesn't come across as 'preachy' or even over-American. Instead I found it thought-provoking and extremely encouraging. An excellent antidote to the various 'how to lead a wonderful and purposeful life' sorts of books that seem to proliferate in Christian bookshops these days, and highly recommended.

Further thoughts about this book and its implications can be found at my Abstractions blog.

It's even available as an e-book for downloading from the authors' site, or can be read online.

Abba's Child

This is the second book I've read by Brennan Manning, and I thought it even better than the first. Of course, this author is widely criticised in Christian circles. He used to be a Roman Catholic priest. He struggled with alcoholism even after becoming a Christian. He believes in reaching out to everyone, to seeing God's image in all mankind. And he hates legalism. Naturally those caught up in legalist mindsets will dislike what he says, but in my view that's all the more reason to read it.

This book is an exploration of what it means to be truly a child of God. It's about unconditional love, and acceptance, and the real meaning of grace. It challenges us to listen to what God is saying, to behave a little more as Jesus would behave, rather than criticising and condemning those who see things differently. It's only in love that we can ever reach out to others, and only in love that God reaches out to us.

Manning looks at the 'inner child' from a Christian rather than psychological viewpoint, encouraging us to embrace our entire selves and acknowledge that God knows and loves us in every part. It's love and acceptance that gives us the freedom to move forward in the Holy Spirit, not repression and legalism.

I can't do justice to this amazing book in just a few paragraphs. Instead I recommend everyone read it, with an open mind and take to heart the inspiration and examples that are given.

Anne of Avonlea (by L M Montgomery)

I love LM Montgomery's 'Anne' books. The classic 'Anne of Green Gables' is of course the best-known, but there are seven direct sequels, of which this one is the first.

'Anne of Avonlea' begins when Anne is sixteen and about to begin teaching at the village school. It seems incredible that a girl of that age could take on such a task - and successfully, too - but at the time, early in the 20th century in Canada, it was apparently the norm.

It's the characterisation that makes these novels so enjoyable. Anne is a wonderful creation: imaginative, independent, idealistic, and very loving. She determines to inspire the children in her school and also finds herself helping to bring up some young twins, a very well-behaved girl and a mischievous, inquisitive boy.

She also looks after Marilla, her foster-mother from the previous book, who is having trouble with her eyes, and is the motivating force behind the 'Avonlea Village Improvement Society'. Oh, and she makes friends with a cranky neighbour.

I suppose it's basically sentimental without much plot, and wouldn't appeal to anyone into fast action and excitement. But I loved re-reading this book. There were one or two places where I almost laughed aloud, and several where I had tears in my eyes.

Essentially this is teenage fiction, of course, but most teenage girls these days wouldn't bother with something so old-fashioned. Nevertheless, for anyone wanting some gentle light reading espousing traditional morals and a slower-paced lifestyle, this is highly recommended.

The Gabriel Hounds

Although I'm not a fan of thrillers in general, I do enjoy Mary Stewart's writing. This particular novel is set in the Middle East - primarily Lebanon, with some scenes in Damascus - and is fast-paced and exciting.

Christy and her cousin Charles want to visit their Great-Aunt Harriet, a reclusive eccentric known to live in a rather ancient castle in Lebanon, which has become legendary amongst the locals. Their attempts to speak to her thrust them into tension and drama, perhaps a little far-fetched at times but nonetheless enjoyable. It was tense without being terrifying, and from the little I know of the area, quite believable in context. I assume it was set in the 1960s, since it was written in 1967 and has the feel of a contemporary book of the time.

All in all, very enjoyable and worth reading.

Lime Street at Two

Having been gripped by the first three autobiographical books by Helen Forrester, I was looking forward to this, the fourth and last. I thought perhaps it would fill in the gaps during her young adult life that were rapidly skimmed at the end of the third book (By the Waters of Liverpool).

Sadly, I was disappointed. Yes, it filled in some of the gaps and told us more of her romances in the war years, but I didn't find this book nearly so interesting or so well-written as the previous ones. Instead it seemed to slot anecdotes in randomly between general facts and figures relating to the war. No doubt it's useful as a piece of social history from a first-person viewpoint, but whereas the earlier books read like stories, and were very moving as a result, this one left me almost cold. I almost wished I hadn't bothered, since the first three books seem complete in themselves, with a conclusion at the end of the third that takes us right up to the time when she started writing.

I didn't even feel that this book ended satisfactorily - it suddenly came to an end, with the end of the war, but did not leave much hope for the future or any clue what the author might have done later in her life. Since I had already read the third book, I knew what the future held, but for anyone picking this volume up without having read the others, it would be rather frustrating. There's a lot of reference to people from the other books but without much to capture interest, even for someone like me who had felt totally involved with their lives in the earlier books.

To be fair, it's not badly written and for someone interested in the war years it's probably worth reading. But it was a great disappointment when read directly after the others in the series.

By the Waters of Liverpool

This is the third in Helen Forrester's autobiographical account of her family's life in Liverpool during the Depression of the 1930s. As this book opens, Helen is 18 - not quite so dirty and hungry as in the earlier books, but still struggling to keep the family together.

World War II threatens, but ironically makes life a bit easier for Helen since the younger children are evacuated, giving her a little more free time. She continues to work steadily for little money and to give most of her pay to her parents, becoming increasingly more stressed as she sees other people her age having fun despite poverty and war.

In this book she eventually begins to bloom as a young woman; an amazing example of courage and strength in face of adversity as she does what she can to make the most of every penny. There's no hint of self-pity in the writing, just an honest and often moving account of what was probably a typical family.

There's an epilogue to this book, flashing forward ten years to give us a 'happy ending', so I suspect it was supposed to be the last of a trilogy - well worth reading, and I'm now very interested to find what the final book in the series is about!

Liverpool Miss

This is the second in Helen Forrester's autobiographical series of four books. Not so instantly gripping and shocking as the first, it's nonetheless very well-written and an excellent sequel.

Helen goes through her teenage years in this book, as she starts work for a pittance, struggles to attend evening classes, goes through puberty, and continues to look after her six younger siblings and try to deal with her rather irresponsible and unpredictable parents.

An amazing story, all in all, providing some very interesting social history and beautifully drawn people, in a book that flows so well, it's hard to remember that it's not fiction at all. Could be read alone, but much better as sequel to 'Twopence to Cross the Mersey'.

Twopence to Cross the Mersey

This is the first in a series of four books forming Helen Forrester's autobiography. I had not realised until starting this book that it was in fact autobiographical rather than fiction; the cover looks like a typical Liverpool saga, and I'd had the book for quite some time before deciding to try it.

I was almost immediately hooked! The style is fast-moving and evocative without being at all self-pitying. Helen is 12 when the book opens, oldest of a family of seven children, and disaster has struck. Her fairly prosperous middle-class family has become bankrupt and destitute. This is partly due to the economic depression of the 1930s, and partly due to her parents' bohemian and extravagant lifestyle. They leave their house for their creditors, and spend their last pennies on travelling to Liverpool, where her father hopes to find work.

Of course there is no work to be found, and so begins a moving story of abject destitution, near starvation, and grim determination on behalf of Helen and some of her siblings. There were times when I had to remind myself it was indeed true anecodotes about a real family, rather than a rather grim invention. And yet there was always something positive and hopeful running through every disaster that struck, some conviction that things had to get better - and not only because Helen, despite being kept away from school to look after her baby brother, has clearly become a published author as an adult!

I expected to find it a bit of a struggle to keep going - instead I was gripped, drawn in to this family, more aware than I had ever been of what it meant to be bankrupt and destitute in hard times, and extremely thankful for my own lifestyle in the 21st century.

Highly recommended. This book is not currently in print in either the UK or USA, but widely available second-hand or in charity shops.

Ballet Shoes

This is probably the best-known of Noel Streatfeild's books, and certainly one of my favourites. It's the story of three baby girls, adopted by the eccentric Great Uncle Matthew (GUM) and left with his neice Syliva and her old nurse 'Nana'. They live in a vast house, and when GUM does not return from his travels after five years, money becomes very tight so they take in boarders.

The girls are educated at home, and given free places at an academy of dance and drama... and there, their talents emerge in diverse ways. There are many realistic glimpses into the world of children's theatre in the 1930s, including the need for licenses for those of 12-14 who are allowed to do professional work only if medically fit and educationally sound.

The three girls: Pauline, Petrova and Posy, are quite distinct characters, yet all believable (if a little caricatured at times) and delightful in their different ways. Family values are, as always with this author, very important, and moral lessons are demonstrated in low-key but effective ways.

It's supposedly for girls of age 8-14, though I suspect that these days it's more likely to appeal to those of about 7-11, since it's a gentle read about ordinary people with not a great deal of excitement. I've read and enjoyed it many times as an adult too.

Back to Square One

This is a relatively short book (150 pages) by Larry Christenson, a Lutheran Pastor who has written several books about spiritual renewal.

It takes as its outline the analogy of the Christian life as being like a game, where every so often we get returned to the first square and have to wait awhile before starting again. Of course it's true that we can easily get caught up in works and ministry and forget about the need for the Holy Spirit's filling and guidance day by day, but I felt the analogy got a bit convoluted in places.

Some interesting points, and worth reading, but I didn't find it particuarly inspiring or encouraging.

First Night

In general I very much like Jane Aiken Hodge's novels. They tend to be either modern or historical, with some excitement and suspense but no gore, and usually an underlying romance.

I was a bit disappointed by this one, however. It's set in Napoleon's time, with political intrigue threading through the plot, but the conversation seemed much too modern to be believable. Maybe I've been spoilt by Georgette Heyer, but I'm sure this author has written far more authentic historical novels. Perhaps this was an early one.

Still, once I got used to the anachronistic style of speech, it was an interesting book, introducing the fictional European country of Lissenberg, which features in at least one of her other books. The main character, Lady Christabel, makes her debut as a singer but gets into trouble as a result and is taken to the UK where her father keeps her hidden. Eventually she escapes with an American sponsor, and they travel through Europe while wars abound.

There's quite a bit of excitement, and the plot itself was well-planned, if complex, although I felt there were rather too many loose ends - such as suspicious people introduced, who were never really followed up. The characters, quite apart from not fitting into the historical context, were distinct but not really sympathetic, and the ending was rather contrived and sudden.

But I kept reading... it wasn't a BAD book, just disappointing when compared with others by this author.

The Quiet Gentleman

Georgette Heyer's books are eminently re-readable, and this is one I had not re-read for about 12 years. It's about the quiet, friendly but determined Lord St Erth, who returns from war to take up his inheritance in Regency England. He has a half-brother, Martin, who had hoped to inherit the family estates himself, and so is not entirely welcome in his home. Martin's mother, the Dowager, is a delightful Austen-like caricature who cares little for anything other than her own day-to-day concerns, and (secondly) the interests of her son.

The cast also includes St Erth's cousin Theo, his friend Ulverstoke, and the eminently practical Drusilla Morville who is currently staying in his home, companion to the Dowager. Oh, and Marianne, the local beauty, who has snared Martin's affections...

Lots of excitement, some tension, and a clever plot which shows why the author managed to write detective novels as well as Regency romances. I did remember (roughly) what happened at the end, but not how it all worked out or any of the details. Enjoyable.

The Voyage of QV66

This is one of many children's books we have, which I had never read. Penelope Lively is a well-established author and I found this story very readable. It's based in a world devoid of humans, several years after a massive flood which apparently led to the mass evacuation of humanity elsewhere. Animals remain, and this book is about six of them who form an unlikely friendship.

Naturally the animals are able to communicate to each other, and some of them have learned to read. The main characters in this book - a horse, a cow, a dog (who tells the story), a cat, a bird and a monkey - are clearly distinct with quite believable - if stereotyped - personalities.

The story is about a voyage these animals make from the North of England to London, in order to find out what kind of animal the monkey is. They manage to find a boat (QV66) and the monkey, who's clever with his hands and quite a thinker, adapts it to take them on the still-flooded areas that cover much of the country.

There's lots of adventure along the way, and much that's thought-provoking too. Other animals are not necessarily so friendly, and some have even set up new structures and rules, making this book almost reminiscent of Orwell's 'Animal Farm' in places.

Would probably be enjoyed most by children of around 8-12.

The Church in Chains

I really wanted to like this book. Or, perhaps not like, exactly, but to find it moving and inspiring. It's an account of the Underground Church and its immense difficulties in the 1960s and 1970s in Communist countries, written by Richard Wurmbrand, a pastor who was himself imprisoned and tortured in Romania.

I suppose part of the problem is that it feels dated. The book is trying to alert Christians in the West to the severity of the problem - of the torture inflicted on church leaders, the brainwashing attempts, and the many other sufferings that happened. The author saw Communism as a massive force, gradually taking over the world. But now we look back and see it mostly disappearing. Perhaps there are still hidden Christians and those in prison in the few remaining Communist countries, but it's no longer the huge number that it was thirty or forty years ago.

Another problem is that the book is written (or so it seems) to make a point. Earlier chapters focus on different countries, with anecdotes about both the 'official' churches (in countries that had them) and the secret ones; tales of horrible tortures, and disappearances; quotations from both Christian and Communist publications. But there's no real development of thought, no link between many of the paragraphs, no way to identify with anyone mentioned because the whole is so horrific, and yet written in such a de-personalised way.

There's also an agenda by the author: that of discrediting those who criticised him, and (more worryingly) those who study theology, or do other works than ministering to the oppressed in Communist countries. Yes, we have much to be thankful for and should remember it, but not everybody is called to this kind of outreach.

So although there was the potential for a moving and inspiring book (perhaps along the lines of Corrie ten Boom's 'The Hiding Place') I found it rather bitty and confusing. By the end, it was hard to know what to believe and what not to believe. I'm sure there were terrible crimes committed against Christians during the era of the book, but I was no closer to understanding why. Moreover I had completely lost track of what was first-hand experience, what was second-hand recounting, and what was merely quoted from reports in media, biased one way or the other.

Spring Fever (by P G Wodehouse)

A light-hearted romance from the brilliant PG Wodehouse. I tend to be less enthusiastic about his stand-alone novels, being a huge fan of both Jeeves and the Blandings books. But I did enjoy this one. There were classic caricatured wealthy American businessmen, and equally classic caricatured English earls and butlers. Add in a couple of young men in love with elusive girls, a stamp worth a fortune, and a cook being chased by two suiters, and the result is a typical (for this author) and enjoyable story.

Nothing to make me laugh aloud, but much to make me smile inwardly. Plot rather than characters run this book, and the plot is somewhat bizarre, but somehow in Wodehouse's hands it all seems quite believable at the time.

Not a long book; an enjoyable way to pass a few hours at a weekend.

Love and Devotion

On the whole, I like Erica James' novels. She seems to publish a new one each year, and there's a clear progression in her style. The early ones were village sagas, enjoyable in a low-key way but without any major shocks or surprises. Then she experimented with 'The Holiday' which I thought was too predictable - a caricatured holiday romance book. Followed by the brilliant 'Precious Time' where she started to show real talent for characterisation. This talent continued in the next couple of books, and in the one which I've just finished reading.

This one also includes some pretty dramatic story-lines. It follows the maturing of Harriet, a thirty-three year old programmer whose life is straightforward, minimalist, and reasonably contented. In temperament theory, she's a clear Rational - and, I thought, very well written. Tragedy strikes her family and she finds herself (in the first chapter) legal guardian to two children, something she feels completely unprepared for.

The novel follows her gradual acceptance of the role, and discoveries about the nature of motherhood, as well as her experimenting with love and passion. She also unravels a secret in her sister's past, rather naively missing the obvious answer which I'd guessed long before Harriet did. And yet, it's in character that she often didn't see what was around her. Her blossoming and growing seemed believable, and often moving.

All in all, a very enjoyable book.